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“Who would be free themselves must strike the blow…

“By their right arms the conquest must be wrought.”

So wrote Lord Byron of Greece’s war of independence against the Turks, though the famed British poet would ignore his own counsel and die just days after arriving in Greece to join the struggle.

Yet Byron’s advice is the wise course for the United States, and for the people of Venezuela who seek to free their country of the grip of the incompetent and dictatorial regime of Nicolas Maduro.

Let the Venezuelans decide their own destiny, as did we.

As of today, Caracas seems to be in something of a standoff.

Opposition leader Juan Guaido, recognized by the U.S. and 50 other nations as president, has failed to persuade the army to abandon Maduro.

Yet he can still muster larger crowds in the streets of Caracas to demand the ouster of Maduro than Maduro can call out to stand by his regime.

Tuesday and Wednesday, Guaido announced that the regime’s final hour was at hand. But by midweek, the army’s leaders, including the minister of defense, still stood with Maduro.

Guaido’s opportunity seems to have passed by, at least for the moment. Maduro remains in power, though his generals, weighing the odds, have apparently been negotiating in secret with Guaido.

The Trump administration has backed Guaido, only to see him fail twice now at taking power.

The White House backed the plan in February to breach Venezuela’s borders with truckloads of food and medicine, counting on the army not to use force to block the trucks.

Vice President Mike Pence traveled to the border.

But Guaido and the Americans miscalculated. The army stood by Maduro. The trucks were kept out.

This week, when Guaido called out the crowds again to bring the strongman down, the White House went all in. President Donald Trump, Pence, Secretary of State Mike Pompeo and John Bolton all tweeted support for the uprising.

But by Thursday, it was again clear that no matter what Washington had been told and anticipated, the army remained loyal to Maduro.

Frustrated, exasperated, appearing at once bellicose and impotent, Washington has now begun to bluster about military intervention.

“All options are on the table,” says Joint Chiefs of Staff Chairman Gen. Joseph Dunford. Presumably that includes the 82nd Airborne.

“While a peaceful solution is desirable, military action is possible,” said Pompeo. “If that’s what required, that’s what the United States will do.”

“All options are open,” says Bolton. “We want a peaceful transfer of power. But we are not going to see Guaido mistreated by this regime.”

Clearly, Juan Guaido is our man in Caracas.

Bolton also had strong words for Vladimir Putin: “(T)his is our hemisphere. It’s not where the Russians should be interfering. This was a mistake on their part.”

“The brutal repression of the Venezuelan people must end, and it must end soon,” said Trump. “People are starving. They have no food; they have no water. And this was once one of the wealthiest countries in the world.”

Yet Trump is reportedly reluctant to intervene. Let us hope that his anti-interventionist impulses guide his decisions. Venezuela’s future is not ours to decide.

This civil conflict is not our war. We have not been attacked. Not only is there no justification for U.S. military intervention, but also any arrival of U.S. troops on Venezuelan soil could turn into yet another 21st-century strategic debacle.

There could be again Americans killing and dying in a country where no vital interest was imperiled, no matter how obnoxious the regime.

There is no Tiananmen Square slaughter, no massive human rights violations going on in Venezuela to justify military intervention. Indeed, there appears to be a conscious effort on the part of Maduro to minimize casualties and bloodshed, and the consequences they could bring.

Troops are not firing indiscriminately on protestors, though rock-throwers in the streets are provoking the soldiers. Planeloads of Russian or Cuban troops are not pouring into the country.

U.S. intervention in a nation of 30 million people, with an army of scores of thousands of troops, would enable Maduro to cast himself in the role of martyr of Yankee imperialism.

Finally, time is on our side, not Maduro’s.

The Venezuelan economy, one of the richest in the hemisphere owing to the world’s largest oil resources, is now in shambles. Some 3 million people, 1 in every 10 Venezuelans, have fled the disaster that Maduro and his mentor Hugo Chavez created.

ORDER IT NOW

The currency is sinking to Weimar levels. Oil exports are falling. Shortages of food and medicine are spreading. Power blackouts have been reported. It is difficult to foresee any turnaround the Maduro regime can execute to revive the economy or prevent the continued exodus of its people. Most of the nations of Latin America are with us and against Maduro.

Venezuela’s situation is not sustainable. Let the fate of the Marxist Socialist regime of Nicolas Maduro be decided by the people of Venezuela.

Patrick J. Buchanan is the author of “Nixon’s White House Wars: The Battles That Made and Broke a President and Divided America Forever.”

Unfortunately, wisdom is in short supply. While the POTUS has not gotten us into another endless war yet, he is taking us to the cusp with this. A pragmatic issue of oil access might be the underlying motive, but the alienation of Maduro might not end up helping with that problem.

In the photos I have seen, the people of Venezuela do not appear to be starving. Some articles by more affluent Venezuelans, complaining about soldiers taking over their hard-earned houses, make you feel sorry for them, but America cannot solve every injustice in Latin America.

This country has its own shaky currency questions, arising from similar bad stewardship of the country’s finances, in addition to all of the other economic issues in that linked article—issues that all of our politicians are lying about.

Where are the candidates with the integrity and guts to address the issues of the American people, not the Latin American people?

The Venezuelan economy, one of the richest in the hemisphere owing to the world’s largest oil resources, is now in shambles. Some 3 million people, 1 in every 10 Venezuelans, have fled the disaster that Maduro and his mentor Hugo Chavez created.

The hysterics, and the Socialists, and the Islamic Socialists, and the victims of Trump Derangement Syndrome [TDS] all will scream at the top of their lungs that Trump is intervening military. Except that is a lie. Number of U.S. Boots on the ground is and will remain ZERO.

The Trump administration sanctions are containing the toxic, infectious blight that is the Socialism of Chavez/Maduro. The U.S. is leaving it to the people of Venezuela to determine their own fate.

Right now:
— Chinese boots on the ground =ZERO. Same as the U.S.
— Russian boots on the ground is <500 centered on preventing S-300 equipment from going missing after Maduro falls.

If Russia or China escalates, this could go horribly sideways despite the Trump administration's obvious restraint. As long as no outside powers intervene, the Venezuelan people will work this out on their own.

Yet he (Guaido) can still muster larger crowds in the streets of Caracas to demand the ouster of Maduro than Maduro can call out to stand by his regime.

That’s funny because both times I saw him speaking before a “large crowd” recently the TV cameras only showed Guaido but never panned the crowd which tells me the crowds are very small and we just have to trust the talking heads that he’s a rock star. So he’s probably only speaking to about thirty people and some stray dogs.

The Venezuelan economy, one of the richest in the hemisphere owing to the world’s largest oil resources, is now in shambles. Some 3 million people, 1 in every 10 Venezuelans, have fled the disaster that Maduro and his mentor Hugo Chavez created.

The currency is sinking to Weimar levels. Oil exports are falling. Shortages of food and medicine are spreading. Power blackouts have been reported. It is difficult to foresee any turnaround the Maduro regime can execute to revive the economy or prevent the continued exodus of its people. Most of the nations of Latin America are with us and against Maduro.

And you don’t think this has anything to do with the Pence administration’s sanctions and illegal seizure of $300B of Venezuela’s money in overseas banks?

This is an “economic crisis” that is entirely the doing of the US, and the coup is staged entirely by the US. Venezuelan civilians laugh at Gauido. He is a joke and a clown to them. No one takes him seriously. They all know he is America’s puppet.

Mike Pence fails at every coup he’s staged. His first coup was to topple Trump, but the Rosenstein-Mueller report came up empty. He brings Barr in because the coup is no longer needed, Trump is now firmly in his pocket. The Veep is now firmly in charge of our nation’s foreign policy, which is what he wanted all along. His coup in Syria and Iran also failed. He and Bolton foiled the NK deal successfully but this coup in Venezuela is not going to go his way either. Putin is 10 steps ahead of that dumb CIA cretin Pompeo.

Mr. Buchanan, the pronoun propagandist (“we, us, our”), criticizes Exceptionalia’s imperialism as matters of strategy, not principle. Note that the sanctions and meddling up to now go unmentioned. “Most of the nations of Latin America are with us and against Maduro.” If he thought that Uncle Sam could quickly break “the grip of the incompetent and dictatorial regime of Nicolas Maduro,” Mr. Buchanan would be all in.

Mr. Buchanan, you must be effing embarrassed with this offering. I suspect you got a call from a handler making you an offer you could not refuse, informing you that you would toe the official Swamp line on this and pretend that the coup in Caracas was a grass-roots affair and not an operation transparently cobbled together by Bolton, Pompeo and Company.

“Bolton also had strong words for Vladimir Putin:'(T)his is our hemisphere. It’s not where the Russians should be interfering. This was a mistake on their part.’” These are actually pretty tame words for the likes of Bolton. No threats, no demands, just “a mistake.” And it’s true, it is a mistake, the last thing Putin needs is to get sucked into another unwinnable war on the other side of the world. It’s also the last thing the U.S. needs now, to be drawn into a brush war even in it’s own hemisphere.
So the best thing they both could do is…STAY OUT OF IT!
Undoubtedly, the people of Venezuela need to “free their country of the grip of the incompetent and dictatorial regime of Nicolas Maduro.” Millions of them are voting with their feet so there’s no use denying Maduro’s unsuitability. But that’s not an endorsement of Guaido. It’s not a package deal. The fate of both have to be “decided by the people of Venezuela.” Excellent advice.

At the same moment Guaido mustered several dozen people on the overpass for the beginning of his “coup,” literally thousands of Venezuelans were marching to the Miraflores presidential palace to defend the government. You wouldn’t know this from US corporate media — you had to be watching Telesur, whose reporters interviewed many government supporters. Yes, the opposition can turn out thousands of supporters at times but the pro-government rallies are always larger. Maduro is not popular but what the US media won’t say is that he’s still more popular than Guaido and the opposition.

500,000 soldiers are loyal to the constitution, the Chavista revolution and the government. Another 2 million Venezuelans are in Chavista citizen-militias. There’s another 5 million unarmed Chavistas who have no intention of turning over the country (and the oil) to multinational interests — not after making tremendous gains in literacy, healthcare, housing and land reform. Maduro and Chavez made plenty of mistakes (how is Venezuela not growing most of its own food?) but what’s wrecking it is the US giving it the Allende treatment. It appears that both Guaido/Lopez and Bolton/Pompeo conned each other about how realistic a coup would be. And, according to Moon of Alabama, all of the idiots involved were conned by Venezuelan generals who said they would support the coup — and then sat back and watched it do a big belly flop. The person most in danger from Uncle Scam is the very disposable Juan Guaido himself. He wouldn’t be much of a martyr because most Venezuelans didn’t even know who he was before this January but he’s all the US has got.

The neocons are thrashing about and not really getting what they want — in Venezuela, Syria, Ukraine, Lebanon, stopping the BRI, etc. Beyond sanctions, cyber warfare and perhaps some infrastructure sabotage, a US invasion of Venezuela doesn’t look to be in cards — it looks like a disaster for the hegemon’s vassals in Colombia and Brazil — and Trump’s re-election prospects. Of course, another way of looking at this is that the people around Trump might want a corrupt war mongering Zionist ghoul like Joe Biden in there anyway.

‘There could be again Americans killing and dying in a country where no vital interest was imperiled, no matter how obnoxious the regime.’ The real danger, in the nuclear age, is protecting core interests without destroying them: responding to an existential threat, and unintentionally bringing about self-destruction. States can be dragged into local conflicts (Venezuela is an example) that are not vital to survival but that lead indirectly into a world war (the US versus Russia/China).https://www.ghostsofhistory.wordpress.com/

Buchanan says there is no Tiananmen Square slaughter or massive human rights violations occurring which would justify military intervention. Then why did the U. S. not intervene when the genuine Tiananmen Square slaughter occurred 30 years ago? American troops would not be justified in Venezuela, either.

Pat is getting his information from a TV screen apparently. In this article, he’s trying to cobble together some kind of justification to support an invasion of Venezuela, while still trying to say that regime change should be up to the Venezuelans, but they won’t do it, so….

Well said by you too.
Trump has no intention to intervene military in Venezuela as things stand, and no other Great Power has as well – apart from Russia’s very small detachment. This may be used to evacuate Maduro and his coterie to Cuba or Russia when his regime finally collapses. It is probably a personal reassurance from the Kremlin to get Maduro to stay as long as he can.
Other experienced observers expect a transitional government in place later this year, with Maduro exiled abroad. This would be in the interest of the Americans, Russians and Chinese. With a collapsing economy, Maduro would risk Civil War if he stayed much longer. And then all that oil would be staying underground for years to come.

Once again proving old Pat is still on the establishments payroll. Pat should stick to Fox “News”, their viewers enjoy having smoke blown up their asses.

Hey Pat the Venezuelans have decided their destiny, multiple times, but the elites do not like the destiny they have chosen for themselves. The rich want it all for themselves.

Pat, let me know when this “dictator” named Maduro invades another country to steal their natural resources, killing 100’s of thousands in the process, or seizes another countries gold/assets for no reason whatsoever. Let me know when Maduro sanctions another country, depriving its citizens of food and medicine, killing hundreds of thousands. Let me know when Maduro starts supporting terrorists/death squads in another country that murder thousands of people. Till then give it a rest Pat.

How dare Maduro think that he can steal Americas oil for the benefit of the Venezuelan people? What a fucking dictator, all of your treasures belong to us Maduro!! We own you ass goyims!

That accounts for why the neo-cons still hate his regime with such a vengeance. Next, they’ll use their latest moniker for their opponents and call him an “Islamo-leftist”.

However, I think his comment shows he wasn’t as dumb as every one portrayed him to be. He was clearly able to differentiate a true threat from a dislike. As opposed to the neo-con likudniks – who simply hate and antagonize every one not of their ilk.

Or, maybe as Stick implies, it’s simply a matter of one “Cholo” recognizing another gang of racketeers.

“Trump has no intention to intervene militarily in Venezuela as things stand.” You know this, how?

Besides isn’t it up to ‘President’ Bolton, who has essentially become ‘Trump’s Brain’? He and Pompeo seem to be calling all the shots on foreign policy, while their clueless putative boss spends his time on the couch watching FOX News, as he Tweets away furiously, rambling like an unfocused crazy man from subject to subject.

And Bolton and Pompeo don’t give a damn whether their putative boss wins re-election next year. They answer to a higher power.

I’ve taken to watching Rick Sanchez on RT lately. With pictures, he contrasted the real bloody violence occurring in the streets of Paris on May Day with the relative calm of Caracas. You will never see that on our degenerate corporate-controlled US media. So ironic that one must go to RT for the truth.

I don’t know where Pat got that idea from, KenH. RT, I think it was Rick Sanchez, showed the puny crowds for Guaido compared to the throngs covering several blocks in support of Maduro.

And how does Pat know that Maduro is “incompetent and dictatorial,” since the Empire never allowed him to run his own country? If Maduro was such a brutal dictator, wouldn’t Guaido have been locked up long ago?

Besides isn’t it up to ‘President’ Bolton, who has essentially become ‘Trump’s Brain’? He and Pompeo seem to be calling all the shots on foreign policy

War is not foreign policy. Under present conditions, if Trump agrees to war, then it’s the end for him politically as well as the end of American hegemony. He realises that. There have been no new wars on his patch. Even American involvement in Syria has been very much wound down.

Mr. Buchanan, the pronoun propagandist (“we, us, our”), criticizes Exceptionalia’s imperialism as matters of strategy, not principle. Note that the sanctions and meddling up to now go unmentioned. “Most of the nations of Latin America are with us and against Maduro.” If he thought that Uncle Sam could quickly break “the grip of the incompetent and dictatorial regime of Nicolas Maduro,” Mr. Buchanan would be all in.

Very true.
I have lost all respect for Buchanan.

As for his “most of the nations of Latin America are with us and against Maduro”, well, this, even if true, what does it really mean?

What it means – and this is real easy to verify – is that uncle Scum has managed to install a bunch of its agents again throughout L. America, as it has done so many times in the past.
In Latin America, as well as in the rest of the world, the US rules mostly through their backing of traitorous local oligarchs/5th columnists.

Ironically, the ZUS have itself long become infected with a powerful 5th column parasite: the Zionists.

Opposition leader Juan Guaido, recognized by the U.S. and 50 other nations as president, has failed to persuade the army to abandon Maduro.

So what Buchanan? There are nearly 200 countries in the world. So the ZUSA & its puppets are clearly in the minority, not to mention their “recognizing” a US agent(Guaido) as president, a person who didn’t even run for president, is in total violation of international Law… not that the ZUSA cares about the rule of law…

Buchanan:

Yet he(US puppet Guaido) can still muster larger crowds in the streets of Caracas to demand the ouster of Maduro than Maduro can call out to stand by his regime.

Really?
There are only 2 options here…
– 1. Buchanan does not have a clue as to what he is talking about.

And how does Pat know that Maduro is “incompetent and dictatorial,” since the Empire never allowed him to run his own country?

Pat likes to humor the establishment by lending credibility to some of their propaganda claims. And yes, if Maduro was such a bloodthirsty dictator then Guaido would be either in prison or dead but is walking around spouting anti-Maduro rhetoric. As for Maduro, I just think he’s a bit corrupt and bumbling, but not evil and malicious like most in the U.S. Congress and U.S. government agencies.

Part of me wants Guaido to succeed because the (((controlled right))) has made hay about the disarmament of Venezuelan citizens in 2012-2013 and I guarantee Guaido and his government will not restore gun rights. Their failure to do so would prove that this isn’t about “freedom and democracy” for the Venezuelan people, but about installing a U.S. aligned thug to be our puppet.

All wars are economic wars:
NSDAP international trade objectives: Trade commodity for commodity thereby avoiding the Bank of International Settlements.http://jrbooksonline.com/PDF_Books/judeadeclareswar.pdf
“The World Jewish Congress has been at war with Germany for seven years.”
– Rabbi M. Perlzweig Toronto Evening Telegram, February 26, 1940.

Winston Churchill told Lord Robert Boothby:
“Germany’s most unforgivable crime before the Second World War was her attempt to extricate her economic power from the world’s trading system and to create her own exchange mechanism which would deny world finance its opportunity to profit.”

On February 4, 1992 Chavez pulls off a military coup. The coup is put down, but not after 14 soldiers were killed. Another coup organized by Chavez occurs in November 1992, at least 143 civilians – and possibly hundreds more – die in the violence. Chavez is put under arrest and is sentenced to jail.

In 1994 Venezuela elects a new president, Rafael Caldera. Caldera, releases Chavez and all the other murderous coup plotters from jail. (Note, Francisco Franco would NEVER have done something this stupid, neither would Fidel Castro have).

Freed from jail, Chavez runs for president in 1998 and GAINS A DECISIVE VICTORY in a free and openly contested election. with 56% of the vote. Chavez is now president. From murderous coup plotter to El Presidente in just 6 years, but we are just getting started, more fun to come.

Frustrated with the democratic process in Venezuela (granted, who wouldn’t be. Venezuela is one of the most corrupt polities on earth). Chavez says, “Let’s have a new Constitution, that will grant me much more power.” A referendum is held is held on April 25, 1999 to create a new constitution, granting the president much more power and CHAVEZ’s SIDE WINS with 88% of the voters supporting. Chavez wins again, in a free and fair referendum. Some guys have all the luck.

The new constitution written up – giving the president the sought after powers – another referendum is held to either approve or reject the constitution. Guess what, the constitution is approved, and CHAVEZ wins AGAIN. The Venezuelan support the new contusion with 72% of the vote. The vote is fair. The vote is free.

Have you seen any Cubans, Russians, Chinese, Iranians yet?

Under the new constitution Chavez had to resign and run again if he wanted to be president. That he does, and runs for president in July 2000. CHAVEZ wins AGAIN, in a fair and contested election.

Starting to notice a pattern here?

For the next several years in Venezuela, just your typical incompetent, corrupt, roiling latin chaos. Strikes, asset seizures, land confiscations, brain drain emigration, violence, crime, capital flight, deterioration of the petroleum infrastructure, collapse in international oil prices…… just the usual.

It’s now 2007 and what’s a fit man in the prime of his life to do? Well if you are Chavez you run again for president, and Venezuela being Venezuela you win again with 63% of the vote, in a fair and contested election.

Again, for the next several years, just more latin chaos. Though, it’s getting really bad now, really bad.

Chavez is prohibited from running again for present again by the constitution that he and his pals scripted 8 years previous. But do you think that this little bump in the road will deter Chavez? No bucking Way. Chavez proposes a referendum to alter this new constitution, giving him the right to run gain. And run he does, WINNING AGAIN on October 7, 2012 with 54% of the vote, in a free and contested election. In one form or another, this is Chavez’s ninth victory. I gotta say, a lot of people liked the dude.

Have you seen any Cubans (alright there are Cubans in Venezuela now, doing who knows what) yet? Any Russians, Chinese, Iranians, Al Queda, ISIS?

March 5, 2013, Chavez dies of brain cancer……………………………………No matter the fun continues. Under the Venezuelan constitution a the Vice President – Nicolas Maduro – assumes office until a new election could be held in 30 days. Nicolas Maduro runs for president and wins the election, held in April 2013. The margin of victory was narrow, but the election was free, fair and contested.

Fat Nick Maduro and his family are raking in cash, big time. He likes the job, so when his turn is up four years hence, he decides to run again. He runs again for president in May 2018. There was no serious opposition to Maduro. The main opposition boycotted the election (did they fear losing?) and other opponents were disqualified for who-cares-what reason. So, we finally have one election/ referendum out of 10 or so over the past 20 years, the legitimacy of which is doubtful. Does this make a case for invasion by United States Armed Forces? Does it?

The sad truth is Venezulans have time and time and time and time, and time again over the past 20 years deliberately chosen these corrupt, incompetent wackos. Who is to blame? Not Russia, not Cuba, not China, not Iran, not Al Queda, not Saddam Hussain, not Moamar Quadaffi, not Manuel Noriega, not the United States of America. The blame lies solely, and entirely with the Venezuela people, and it is their responsibility, and only their responsibility, to make things right. Thirty years ago the Romanian people, tired of 30 years of wicked communist rule, challenged and confronted the dictator Nicolae Ceausescu at one of his huge mass rallies. No more would they chant the bullshit slogans, no more would they cow in fear of the police or the Party. Ceausescu saw this. He feared, he showed it. The people saw the fear, swarmed the rostrum, chased through the alley. Ceausescu fled, the people chased him to his armed and protected country villa. They seized him, they dispatched him. Done. Over, in one day.

Next week, convene 500,000 Venezuelans in Caracas, march on the presidential palace and Maduro will be gone before nightfall. It really is that simple.

“The brutal repression of the Venezuelan people must end, and it must end soon,” said Trump. “People are starving. They have no food; they have no water. And this was once one of the wealthiest countries in the world.”

Oh my — big hearted Trumpie failed to mention “power” – the people have no electrical power – how did that happen? Will anyone in the fake media ever ask him WHY?

Hmm — will anyone in the media ask about what the sanctions are doing to Venezuela?

Oh I know — the Jew media bosses would not like that – would they?

p.s. Venezuela once backed Iraq’s Sadam – the Jews are out for revenge – the Jews are starving the poor because of that.

“Next week, convene 500,000 Venezuelans in Caracas, march on the presidential palace and Maduro will be gone before nightfall. It really is that simple.”

Hear that random guaido? DanH says it’s really easy, this is all you have to do. I’m sure you and Elliott and Pompeo and Bonkers have not thought of or attempted it yet.

(p.s. If you could just go back and replay Iraq II for Americans, it would be much appreciated. After all, the neo-con Zionists assured us that U.S. troops would be greeted as liberators – especially after finding Saddam’s WMDs. Easy peasy.)

Hmmmmmm Patrick Buchanan, so much for spontaneous uprisings that succeed of their own accord. Are these the neocon clowns who will be leading the U.S. in a military engagement against Iran (after they spark one – needless to say)?

“Having cancelled his Europe trip because of ongoing planning on Venezuela, Acting Defense Secretary Patrick Shanahan held closed-door meetings at the Pentagon on Friday with John Bolton and Secretary of State Mike Pompeo.

Exact details of the meeting are not being made public, and the State Department didn’t even list the meeting as having taken place. Administration officials, however, said the focus was on discussing various military options for a US invasion of Venezuela.

Perennial hawk John Bolton seems to be salivating at the possibility of the US invading the major South American country, while Pompeo has been telling the press at every opportunity that if the US decides an attack is required “that’s what the United States will do.”

Shanahan continues to brag about the good intelligence the US has on the situation in Venezuela, a claim which must be questioned after this week’s failed coup. The administration’s leadership seems determined to portray themselves as ready to start this war, and after months of saying that not having imposed regime change through sheer force of will, there is a growing risk they will attack outright.”

Guaido, the traitor does have support in motherland as demonstrated by the 200 or so who came out along with the 23 Private Pykes. The latter we are told sought refuge in a foreign embassy at the end of the day.

Is there no end to the US efforts to pauperise the rest of the world by threats, sanctions and by real invasions ?

It’s very simple. If we leave Venezuela alone, Maduro will bring himself down, like many of his ilk in history. Enough of his own people are already tired of him. More will get there. Knowing Latin American politics, they will probably kill him in some way or another. All without the US having to spend a penny. And even if that wasn’t true: what vital interest does the US have in Venezuela anyway? After all, we have our own oil now. (Same with Saudi Arabia…)

If we visibly meddle, let alone send troops, he’ll cast himself against the hated Yanqui. Nationalism, preferably against a force that can bring up historical memories, is a binding force like no other. Even someone as politically stupid as Maduro knows that. The US will end up spending billions more-that we don’t even have-at best. At worst… well, let’s look at how Iraq and Libya and Syria turned out.

It’s a very easy, logical decision, but requires that you be mildly unemotional and willing to look at facts about the limits of hard power that the US has. Which is why the Usual Suspects in DC would naturally do the opposite.

This dynamic ain’t new. Solzhenitsyn once mentioned that Communism in Russia would likely have not survived to 1950 if Hitler didn’t attempt to enslave or kill them all, giving Stalin the chance to dress the war as a fight for Mother Russia’s existence: that onetime failed seminarian even was willing to bring back the Orthodox Church! That fight was something that resonated with average Russians way, way more than Marx and Engels ever did. Instead of ridding the world of Bolshevism, Hitler’s decision to intervene brought it to the heart of Europe. Matter of fact, there probably would have been no Third Reich if we didn’t intervene in 1917. Interventionism has way more prominent failures in history than successes, looking at things objectively.

Sorry nebulafox, but you and your “ilk” on this thread miss the point.

Why should Americans care whether Maduro falls or not – why should they be rooting for him to fall in the first place if he and Venezuela don’t pose a threat to them?

This notion that Maduro should even be a concern of Americans comes directly from the neocon/Israel-first crowd who assure Americans that he is one of the “troika of tyranny” (along with fellow global superpowers Nicaragua and Cuba).

The problem with letting these countries ‘decide their own destiny’ is that their citizens seem to feel it’s the obligation of their neighbors to take millions of their citizens in and care for them after they get it wrong…

Now, maybe I am wrong, but didn’t most of Venezuela vote for these socialists in past elections?

So, in the words of our last President: “elections have consequences” and the people of Venuzuela need to live with the consequences of their votes without burdening everyone around them…ie: why should Columbia and Brazil be burdened with millions of Venezuela’s citizens because they have a failing economy due to voting in a socialist government. A government that guaranteed everybody everything for free (until the oil bubble burst a few years ago).

Our sanctions against Venezuela are relatively recent but they have been living on borrowed time and credit for a long long time and I say the bill is now due and it needs to be paid and not by other countries but their own citizens…These so called refugees from Venezuela need to be packed up and sent right back to their own country and work on getting this government out and building a real econony that can take care of it’s own citizens…

US must engage in militaristic and regime-change behaviors because its massive debt and economy are dependent on maintaining petrodollar dominance.
That means US must gain control of Venezuelan oil, not necessarily for the commodity itself but in order to ensure that it continues to be traded in petrodollars to support US’s totally out-of-whack financial situation.
The greatest drain on US economy is government handouts — Social Security and Medicare – Medicaid. Hundreds of thousands of people collect Social Security benefits under other conditions not retirement: a 40-year old person who can get someone to certify that he is “depressed” and unable to work can collect SSI until he is 66 and starts to collect retirement benefits.

From anecdotal information, I suspect a huge portion of the drain on Medicaid is payments for long-term care of seniors in assisted living centers: it’s quite the racket: law firms specialize in advising clients how to “spend down” their assets, or appropriately convey them to heirs, in order to preserve their assets while Uncle Sam pays for them to live in nursing home at cost of $75000 + per year.

iow, US economy is every bit as failed as Venezuela’s; it just has better PR.

Pat Buchanan writes: Byron’s advice is the wise course for the United States, and for the people of Venezuela who seek to free their country of the grip of the incompetent and dictatorial regime of Nicolas Maduro. WTF

The United States and the US Media, fail to acknowledge what happened in Venezuela was a planned US coup. The Trump Administration hides the fact that intervention is already under way. In fact Venezuela has been slowly suffering under an economic war since the socialist revolution in 1998. More recently this has taken the form of illegal economic sanctions set to cost Venezuela $11bn in 2019, a CIA planned and executed constitutional coup, information war and ‘black ops’ missions both from the US, and across the Colombian border.

A military intervention by the US will make the situation many times worse for the people of Venezuela. Pat Buchanan fails to mention why this is happening? The real reason behind the US intervention is pretty simple: oil (the biggest remaining reserves globally are in Venezuela) and ideology (an ideological quest to replace socialism, indigenous peoples’ rights and independence with Anglo-Zionist white supremacy and subjugation in Latin America).

The US has refused to acknowledge President Maduro as the elected leader of Venezuela despite extensive evidence the electoral system is extremely fair and robust. Instead the US and its European allies have recognized the relatively obscure head of the National Assembly, Juan Guaidó as President.

I can imagine Trump calling Pompeo, “Hey Pompy, I’ve got an Idea of how to get that Maburro guy out of Venezuela”. I need you to call the CIA’s Mexican office, and tell them we need a Mexican on their payroll so we can make President of the Mexican state of Venezuela.”

Trump and his opposition puppets led by Guaidó – according to John Pilger – a creation of the CIA-front National Endowment for Democracy, have now ruled out a negotiated solution or even dialogue with the legitimate Government of Venezuela. This clearly shows that the US administration’s only intention is regime change to install a compliant far-right dictatorship over which it can exert full control.

The negative rhetoric coming out of Washington and the MSM about faults in Venezuela’s “democratic freedoms” taste a lot like the bullshit they said about ‘Qaddafi’ or ‘Saddam’ and that of Germany prior to WWII or the Cold war.

Despite the Political and Media hype, Venezuela is still not even a very socialist nation. However, socialism appears to be a convenient ‘boogieman’ for the Trump Administration to use to further its ambitions. The Trump Administration appears to be refocusing its attentions on reasserting US hegemony of the Latin American region. Invading Venezuela, Cuba and Nicaragua to reassert neo-liberal capitalist control of Latin America seems to be on the Trump menu.

This US aggression in Latin America is and overt ‘Fuck You!’ to Russia and China and the entire “Global South,” as the US tries to shore up the natural resource rich Latin American region. Pat Buchanan fails to mention that In February, a plane load of US automatic weapons with apparent CIA links was seized landing in Venezuela after having already completed multiple round-trips in recent weeks delivering arms to ant-government forces.

Venezuelans are not stupid, they know that military intervention will likely lead to far worse outcomes, not least of which are another period of US supported dictatorship, a violent civil war or even worse.

However, the far right camp of Guaidó have now been thrust by the US and the Media into the role of anointed opposition leader in a highly undemocratic ‘all or nothing’ power grab. They are now openly calling for military intervention against the will of the population to seal their power grab.

We live in an age in which economic and information wars, crimes against humanity, undemocratic power grabs, and open threats of invasion of an oil rich democratically ruled nation by the most powerful nation in the world is all shamelessly justified and accepted as normal by the vast majority of the media and many governments.

The US attempt at regime change in Venezuela could seriously backfire and lead to a bloodbath like Vietnam or Syria, or even worse, it could spread over the borders sparking war across Latin America. Wars that could end up at the southern borders of the US. Fulfilling the end-time prophesies in the book of Revelations, Chapter 18 Mystery Babylon has fallen.

The only solution to the Venezuelan crisis involve dialogue, negotiation and a commitment from the international communities to respect democratic processes. They will also require journalists and ethically sound national governments to finally stand up to the bullying dished out by the Anglo-Zionist ruled USA.

Or you can just say “Fuck It” and continue to watch football and drink beer! Pat Buchanan, must be doing just that. One can only come to that conclusion after reading this article. I’ll end this with 3 famous words once sung by the famous Doris Day…Que Sera, Sera!

Afraid my comment was a mynah bird of MSM talking heads.
I suppose the argument can be made that the social programs are a legal obligation, while MIC budgets and programs can be reduced, given political will.

When there was said to be no US boots on the ground in Syria, there were well over a 1000 special forces carrying out covert operations, CIA intelligence operatives handing over US army intel on the Syrian army movements and weapons to terrorists plus special contracts providing direct logistical assistance to the muslim hordes of butchers, rapists and slavers they called allies.

So when I get told there are No US boots on the ground in Venezuela, I can’t help but wonder how just big the covert force is that is working behind the scenes to disrupt and take out the local government via sabotage, gorilla warfare and providing aid to terrorists err freedom fighters while the MSM and Government just never talks about it.

54% is greater than 9% / Military is greater than Social spending / medicare

???

aha
Here is the resolution:

The first chart that you linked is Discretionary spending, not the total budget; Discretionary spending is ~29% of TOTAL spending; as stated above, Military is the greatest part of Discretionary spending.
Mandatory spending chews up nearly 65% of the Total budget.
Military spending is only (!) 15.88% of TOTAL spending, while Soc Security, etc. + Medicare, which are MANDATORY spendings, are OVER 60% of TOTAL spending.

Almost the entire total of Mandatory spending goes to Social Security and Medicare.

Stray thought: If Trump hangs Venezuela to dry—under crushing sanctions and maybe some low-grade kinetic action via proxies—wouldn’t it help him position himself against the Democrats in 2020, and against Democratic Socialists in particular? Maybe that’s part of his calculations.

Medicare and Medicaid are two totally different programs. Medicare (is for retirees which they pay a premium for every month like every other health insurance) does not pay for Assisted Living facilities…

Nothing yet…unless Brazil and Columbia convinced the UN to finance the care of these refugees they are letting pour into their countries from Venezuela. Since the US pays most of the bill of the UN, then we are indirectly paying for all of these people.

But my larger point is that we cannot continue allowing this sort of activity to continue whereas people make ‘bad’ decisions in their elective governments and then when it all doesn’t work out, everyone starts heading for the exit and crossing borders into other countries…

If that is going to continue, then all of your neighbors including the US is going to make it their business (as they have a right to do) about who is getting elected to manage these countries…

We are sitting on our hands while Central America is turning into another Haiti and those people are now pouring over our southern border. Now Venezuela…how much of this can we take before we collapse right along with them…and if the US goes under then the entire North and South America goes right along with it…

Does your total for military spending factor in the mandator spending on all military assest like the nuclear arsenal whose budget is hidden in the energy sector and the rebuilding of smashed states?

Does it also account for NATO funding, the billions spent on weapons for Isreal, Saudi Arabia and the rest of vassel states of the empire?

Does it include the funding and arming of the current proxy forces in Ukraine, Syria, Lybia and Venezuela?

One must also remember that the budget laid out is not the actual budget, its just a guess work. I still recall seeing the video clips of congress members requesting additional 100 to 150 millions for state level military spending.

Don’t forget congress and Trump signed off on spending 1 trillion dollars upgrading the nuclear arsenal.

So, your logic is that Trump needs to regime change Venezuela strictly as an act of “self-defense” – to prevent the immigrant hordes from storming North and bankrupting Medicare and Medicaid?

Oh boy do Americans need “defending” – from the President’s deficits, any more bankrupting wars for Israel, but most of all from any further imported and utterly corrupting hasbara logic which paints every one and everything as an “existential” threat.

“The Venezuelan people (Americans?) aspire to get a government that they can control – not have a government controlled by an authoritarian military regime (neo-cons?) that is in turn controlled by Cuba (Israel?) and other forces external to them…”

The problem is the Middle East seems to be in the US hemisphere, Asia seems to be in the US hemisphere, Africa seems to be in the US hemisphere, Europe seems to be in the US hemisphere, Russia’s borders seem to be in the US hemisphere. Where isn’t in the US hemisphere?

The problem is not “where” isn’t in the U.S. Hemisphere, but rather “what” isn’t.

That latter would be the actual interests of American citizens and between the ears of the President and his “administration”, the common sense, policy competence and good faith necessary to identify, pursue and realize these.

Now that’s one big load of bullshit one right out of foggy bottom or the C.I.A. handbook,Iraq comes to mind where we went in killing and raping and then bitching about the results known as refuges,then we can add Libya Syria Afghanistan as the people fleeing the bombing and the killing,and now we want to add Venezuela with all its sanctions along with Cuba Iran and Ecuador waiting in the wings, while it never our fault but always the type of government that these countries have.As far as the UN that’s simply another mouthpiece of the empire just another whore to add to those who make up the congress and their boss’s in the MIC.!!

Actually, in this particular case, NYMOM’s talking points and memes come directly from Israel – like so many of the nonsensical justifications the president and his cabal of Israel-first racketeers utter.

Their “logic” is that everywhere outside of your own country is a jungle and you simply have to draw up the castle gate – just like the Israelis do (“National Zionism”).

They always fail to mention their own significant contributions to making and keeping those outside lands a jungle, whether it be by stoking endless war, backing terrorists and crying for the U.S. to sanction every one save themselves. (N.B. They lecture us that unilateral U.S. sanctions are only “effective” against the rivals of Israel, they are completely the wrong tool to apply pressure for a long-overdue peace plan with the Palestinians. Got it!)

Typical hasbara crap. No wonder they need to pass laws to prevent criticism of themselves.

Unfortunately for them, Americans are really beginning to push back against this nonsense (hence the recent chorus whines of “anti-Semitism”).

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Of course it would for if they did that they would'nt have anything to whine,bitch,moan or blame someone else about,they will always vote the party line, and then claim they voted for the lessor of the TWO evils,but with their limited mentality they must vote, for if they didn't it would be unpat...

Except you're too stupid to realize a partial default means the entire American financial system goes bankrupt due to derivative contracts and that the US dollar ceases being more relevant than the Canadian dollar as a currency. Which might not be an issue if the entire American economy wasn't ju...

The AngloZionist financial controllers see the writing on the wall with the emergence of a new financial system led by China, which the AngloZionists do not control. They want control and the only way forward for that goal is to break Russia and China apart or weasel their way into the new system...

Okay let's get this straight : For leftists such as yourself draft-dodgers such as BC were nothing short of heros, but when they are Republican draft-dogers they are then transformed into : traitors.
You leftist hypocrites never fail to amaze with your twisting things around to suit your lunat...

The AngloZionist financial controllers see the writing on the wall with the emergence of a new financial system led by China, which the AngloZionists do not control. They want control and the only way forward for that goal is to break Russia and China apart or weasel their way into the new syste...

The demise of John Bolton suggests President Trump is not so black and white on issues of war and peace, and does seem to be striving to avoid disastrous conflicts. But the fundamentals still point us in the direction of another world war: that will require the continuum of skill and insightfulne...

Trump pulled out of the Iran deal when the only side that had to perform on the contract was Iran.
We already paid the money, something that Trump had to know he would never get back. Something wrong here.

The question is not what it means that Bolton left; but what it meant that he was appointed. Did Trump not know that his views were diametrically opposed to everything he said during his campaign.
And what about all those other swamp creatures appointed by Trump?
Something wrong here.

That's wrong position. It has been fed by war eager criminals . America protects a lot of dissidents who hurt other countries ( there own countries ) - Iran , Venezuela, , Iraq , Libya . Has been doing it before 911 .
Taliban offered US a reasonable way out of war .
Bush told and war eager ...

If all along US admitted the truth that Taliban were not able or responsible to engineer 911
Afghanistan was not attacked because the Taliban was suipposedly responsible for 9-11. It was because the Taliban gave sanctuary to Al Qaeda who was assumed responsible for it.

Many lessons for many
1 Dont use excuses lies and subterfuges .Never combine that with arrogance and dereliction of duties.
If all along US admitted the truth that Taliban were not able or responsible to engineer 911 ,we wouldn't have this disgusting charade showcased by pathetic NYT C...

Donald Trump's choice of fellow draft dodger and war monger John Bolton confirmed in the minds of many of Trump's critics that he was in over his inexperienced head. However, past mistakes can sometimes be ameliorated.

What makes you think that they weren’t lying, too?
Your wishful participation only helps to prop up a ruling class that couldn’t care less about the American people. If you’re going to go through the motions, please at least take more than your Red & Blue crayons and register some di...

Trump has already threatened to not pay the debt back in full.
During a CNBC interview in May 2016, Trump said that if the economy turned south, he would try to get creditors to accept partial payment on U.S. debt. “I would borrow, knowing that if the economy crashed, you could make a deal,...

I wonder why Joe’s wife, an intelligent woman with a PhD, hasn’t advised him that it’s time to step aside and rest.
Jill Biden has a PHD in something called "educational leadership" from the University of Delaware, earned while he husband happened to be a U.S. Senator from Delaware. She's ...

... atrocities continue unabated, and U.S. troops remain in Iraq, Syria and Afghanistan in the same numbers they are today, what does Trump do? What does Trump say?
That's simple enough.
https://wearechange.org/wp-content/uploads/2016/12/twitpic-172-600x376.jpg
Print our own money.
No m...

Yet, after Bolton’s departure, Trump’s problem is this: What he promised in 2016 he has been unable to deliver.
And yet most of the fault lies with Trump himself. There was never anything stopping him from firing the assorted cast of Dr. Strangelove deep staters that surround him but he lac...